


Child

by HanaHimus



Series: Velvet Apartment Adventures [4]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 5
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series), Gen, Sisters, Technically part of a series but can be read alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 02:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanaHimus/pseuds/HanaHimus
Summary: Shinjiro ends up taking care on Ken. It takes no time for his life to end up changing quite a bit.





	Child

**Author's Note:**

> Another oneshot! Bc young Ken! Also young Makoto and Sae!
> 
> Sort of a prequel to Velvet Apartments, but can totally be read alone since it happens before the main story.

Ken Amada had the look of someone entirely ancient. As Shinjiro looked down at him, he hated the fact he knew why. Just a year ago a car had crashed into Ken’s house and killed his mother… A house that Shinjiro still remembered when his brakes decided to fail on him.

He still wasn’t sure how he hadn’t gotten something after that, probably Mitsuru’s meddling, but he felt he needed to atone in some way. Even if the way was just making sure this kid had a place to stay… He had to admit he hated that Mitsuru’s meddling was the only reason he was able to gain custody at the age of nineteen, but it worked.

“You’re going to be taking care of me, then, Shinjiro-san?” He looked up at him with a small frown on his face.

“Yeah...My place isn’t the best, but it should work…” He put his hands in his pockets, a frown on his face. He just wasn’t going to be able to handle this well, was he?

Ken just nodded, his face still blank. “I’m in your care, then, I guess?”

“You talk like an adult more than me...this is too weird.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Well, come on.”

Ken didn’t say anything, just nodded again and followed after him. This was...going to be interesting, wasn’t it? Shinjiro didn’t know anything about taking care of a kid and this kid didn’t seem to act like a normal one. This was just going to get bad.

He walked up to the apartment building, a frown on his face. It was way too close to the train station and wasn’t the best. It looked like it was falling apart, things leaked… Shinjiro made a note to make sure that Ken was moved into the most decent room in his apartment.

“Well, up this way, then.” He shrugged and started up the steps, glancing back to make sure Ken was following after him.

Ken was there, still frowning as he followed him. Shinjiro wasn’t sure why, but there was something about the look in his eyes that told him he knew something more than he said. Did he remember him from that night…? If he did, well, Shinjiro would rather just know. Maybe then he’d have to force himself to apologize.

“Here we are…” He unlocked the door and forced it open. “You’ll have to force it open, it gets stuck easily, alright?”

“Alright.” Ken nodded a bit and followed him in, taking off his shoes and placing them next to Shinjiro’s. “Do I need to know anything else?”

“I’ll drop you off at school and pick you up.” He looked at him. “I’ll be working on your days off and at night. Keep the door locked no matter what, don’t open it for anyone. I have a key, I’ll get in myself.”

Ken frowned. “Is it safe for me to stay here alone?”

“I’m working to make sure we have a place to stay and have food, there’s not much I can do about it. Not like I have money for a babysitter.” He shook his head.

“This neighborhood doesn’t seem safe, though.” Ken frowned at him.

“All I can afford. The nicer places cost a lot more, you know?”

The two of them stared at each other for a while, a frown on both their faces. Neither seemed to want to budge, but Shinjiro eventually sighed. Ken had a point, this wasn’t a safe neighborhood for a kid like him. It worked fine for him, but Ken? It wasn’t going to end well…

“I’ll see what I can do. Stop looking at me like that already.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“...Okay.” Ken looked away, as if he couldn’t look Shinjiro in the eye anymore.

Shinjiro sighed, this was going to be bad, wasn’t it?

\--

Shinjiro couldn’t help but curse when he saw the rain as he walked towards Ken’s school. He only had a ratty umbrella and had given it to Ken. He hoped the kid was having alright luck with it, at least. He couldn’t afford Ken getting sick, there was barely enough for food and he already had three jobs.

So, he was a bit peeved when he saw Ken holding the umbrella over a cardboard box. What was he doing? It was cold out and he looked drenched. How long had he been holding the umbrella there.

“Hey.” He moved to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What are you--”

He stopped when he saw a puppy sitting in the box. He was small and white… A Shiba Inu pup? Looked like he was an albino, too. So Ken was trying to keep the puppy from getting too wet, then.

“You said no pets in the apartment building, right?” Ken frowned up at him. “I didn’t want him to get sick.”

Shinjiro frowned, he had told Ken that after a while, when he asked for some sort of animal to protect him. He’d had to turn him down, there were no pets allowed, after all… But this little thing was so small. No way it would survive if they left it.

“Dammit…” He bent down and looked around for any information when he noticed a collar on the puppy.

_ Koromaru _

“So you’re Koromaru, huh? Left here…?” He frowned and picked up the puppy, placing him in his jacket. He seemed to quickly take to the shoulder too. “No pets, but we can make sure he’s alright, come on.”

He took the umbrella and held it above both of them. He needed to make sure Ken dried off quickly, after all. He stayed wet too long and it would be bad. He started off towards the apartments, Ken following after him.

“Are you going to your jobs anyway?”

Shinjiro looked down at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“...Koromaru looks like he needs someone with him.” Ken frowned up at him. “I can’t do it.”

“I can’t miss work, you know that.” He shook his head.

“I can go without food for a while, please don’t leave.” Ken crossed his arms as he walked along. “Please?”

“Ugh, fine.” Shinjiro shook his head. Ken wouldn’t be going without any food, if anything he would be going without it.

“Thanks…” He nodded a bit as Shinjiro led Ken to the apartment and pushed the door open.

He shook his head and sighed. “Just go find a towel and dry yourself off.”

“What about you, Shinjiro-san?” Ken looked over at him, though he sounded more curious than worried.

“I’m gonna make sure the puppy gets dry and warm first.”

Ken frowned, but nodded.

Shinjiro glanced over at him as he pulled the puppy out of his jacket. “Make sure you change your clothes after drying off too, wet clothes’ll make you sick.”

Ken nodded again and walked off. Shinjiro sighed a bit as Koromaru started barking at him, whining occasionally. Seemed like the poor thing wasn’t having a good time. After shrugging off his jacket, he grabbed a blanket and started trying to dry off and warm up the puppy. He wasn’t as wet as Ken, at the very least… Maybe he’d found the puppy shortly after he was placed out there.

“It’s okay, buddy…” Soon enough he was dry and wrapped in another part of the blanket.

“Shinjiro-san!” He turned, but Ken wasn’t there (at least). “I think someone’s at the door!”

“What’re you talking about kid? We haven’t heard any knock or--” He stopped when a knock indeed came. How did Ken see that coming…?

He sighed, looking down to the puppy. He seemed to be getting warmer, but Shinjiro wasn’t sure he wanted to just leave him alone. He picked him up and frowned a bit, carrying the puppy in his arms. Whoever it was could deal with him holding Koromaru, alright?

“Hello?” He opened the door and looked around, but there wasn’t anyone. Just a piece of paper taped to the door. Who in the hell did that?

_ Velvet Apartments _

“What the hell?” He pulled it off the door and moved back into the apartment, closing the door. This was a flier advertising some apartment building.

It was in a safer neighborhood, apparently cheaper than this one, and a “friendly staff to guide you to greatness,” whatever that meant. It sounded almost too good to be true, and why would it show up on his door? The only thing that seemed interesting to him, really, was that it allowed pets too. Weird that showed up right after they found Koromaru. This had to be some sort of prank.

“Maybe I’ll go check it out tomorrow…” There was an address and he wanted to find out who did this, at the very least.

Koromaru barked again, as if trying to reply to Shinjiro.

“I’ll be careful, be quiet.” He flicked the dog’s nose gently and stuck out his tongue.

“What’s going on?” Ken walked out, now in his pajamas, a towel on his head.

“Nothing,” Shinjiro shook his head, “don’t worry about it.”

\--

Ken didn’t seem to be happy at all about moving suddenly, but Shinjiro had felt it was the best idea. He’d checked out the apartments, and it’d actually been kind of nice? The workers were a bit weird, but overall pretty polite. Plus he’d seen a few others around and they all seemed happy enough.

“You still mad?” Shinjiro looked down at Ken with a frown. “Mad because you have to switch schools. You did seem to like that kid, whats-his-face?”

Ken blushed a bit. “No! It’s just the middle of the year…”

“You sure that’s it?” He rose an eyebrow. “You get to keep Koromaru, isn’t that a plus?”

Ken opened his mouth, only to let it close as he nodded. Looked like that was enough for the kid, at least. Man, kids like him were almost too easy to deal with. At least when it came to things like this.

He looked over and saw what seemed to be a family moving in. There was a man, dark brown hair cut neatly. Standing on either side of him were girls, one who seemed to be about Shinjiro’s age with short grey hair and a girl around Ken’s age with the same hair color as the man, though it was to her shoulders. A single father and his daughters, huh? Good to see someone around Ken’s age, though.

The younger girl looked over, clinging to her father’s arm when she saw Shinjiro. He just scared kids way too easily, didn’t he? He hoped Ken would at least be able to try and make a friend despite that.

“Dad…” The older girl seemed to notice her little sister’s fear and glared at Shinjiro. “Are you sure this apartment is a good idea?”

The man looked over at Shinjiro, but instead of looking worried or angry like his daughters, he just laughed. “Sae, are you looking for something to go wrong?”

Sae blinked a few times. “I-I no! Makoto was looking at him like he did something, though.”

Ken seemed to decide now was the time for him to get involved. “Shinjiro-san didn’t do anything.”

“Makoto,” the man smiled down at the smaller girl, “can you tell me if anything happened?”

“N-nothing happened.” She shook her head, her cheeks red. “He just scared me…”

Ken looked up at Shinjiro and frowned. “You are kind of scary, Shinjiro-san.”

“Gee, thanks kid.”

The man laughed and shook his head, making his way over to Shinjiro and holding out a hand. “I’m Kazuki Niijima, and these are my daughters, Sae and Makoto. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh…” Shinjiro took his hand. “Shinjiro Aragaki, this kid is Ken Amada.”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be taking care of him?” Kazuki asked, head tilted to the side. “You seem about Sae’s age…”

“I have some connections.” He shrugged a bit, not wanting to say anything else about it.

“I see…” Kazuki was watching him carefully, a frown on his face. “Well, if you ever need any help, feel free to come find me!”

It took a few moments before it finally hit what was said and he nodded. “Thanks.”

“Maybe Makoto and little Amada-kun could have playdates, too.” He laughed a bit and nodded.

“I’m not some kid who needs playdates…” Ken shook his head, a frown on his face.

“I’m not a little girl anymore, daddy! I-I want to help you and Sae, not play!” Makoto seemed to be on the same wavelength as Ken when it came to that, then.

Shinjiro sighed, ruffling Ken’s hair. “You don’t have to grow up yet. You can still play sometimes.”

“I’m already eleven, though!”

“...Eleven year olds can still play.” He really didn’t see what the problem was.

Ken blushed a bit and shook his head. “No I can’t!”

Makoto blinked a few times and looked up at her father. “I-I can’t either!”

“Makoto, it would be good for you to make some friends now, you know?” Kazuki sighed. “I know you’re sigh, but…”

“Dad, Makoto should make more friends, but…” Sae narrowed her eyes at Shinjiro and frowned. “I’m not sure I trust his guardian.”

“Sae, you’re always so worried. Just because my job is dangerous doesn’t mean I’d ever put you two in any danger.” Kazuki shook his head. “I appreciate it, but be a teenager sometimes.”

“Dad…”

“Oh, I have the perfect idea!” He smiled and looked between his daughters and the two males he’d just met. “If Makoto and Amada-kun can be friends, maybe you and Sae could also get along?”

Shinjiro looked at Sae and then back at her father. “Not sure she’s up for that.”

“I’d really rather not…” Sae crossed her arms and sighed. “But if you want me to try, I will.”

Kazuki looked at Shinjiro and rose an eyebrow, a smile on his face. Looked like he wanted Shinjiro to say he’d try too. He didn’t know why, but kind people like this always made things hard on him. It made saying no even harder to do…

“Sure, I’ll give it a shot.” He looked him over and frowned. “Don’t expect much, though.”

“Oh come on, don’t worry! Sae seems a bit grumpy, but she’s a good girl.” Kazuki laughed a bit, slapping Shinjiro on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine.”

\--

A week into trying to talk to Sae and Shinjiro knew it wasn’t fine. She seemed to have no interest in talking to him, and, well, the only person he’d talked to for more than a half-hour was the doorman. He just wasn’t good at talking to people, was he? Sae not being a people-person didn’t help matters, either.

So now that they were standing together (along with Ken and Makoto), trying to escape the rain, it was even worse. Neither had brought an umbrella, and it just had to have rained when they were picking up the kids, huh? Usually they walked back together in silence, to give Kazuki the illusion that they were getting along. Now, though?

This was just the worst.

“Ummm…” Makoto looked up at Shinjiro and frowned.

“Want something, kid?” He rose an eyebrow and she looked away, a blush on her face.

“Why do you always look so mad?”

Sae glanced over at Shinjiro. “That’s a good question. You and Amada-kun always look angry.”

“I do not.” Ken shook his head, though the look on his face didn’t help his cause any.

“He just looks pouty, not angry.”

“Shinjiro-san!”

Makoto looked at Ken and sighed. “He’s kind of right, you know? You’re really pouty, Ken-kun.”

Ken blinked a few times and scoffed. “I am not!”

Sae sighed, shaking her head. “This is so annoying. Why did it have to rain…?”

“Beats me…” Shinjiro shrugged as he stuck a hand out. “It’s coming down hard.”

“I feel that’s something you can tell without sticking your hand out in the rain.” Sae shook her head as she stared out at the street.

“Checking if the rain was still cold. If it was warm we could make a run for it.” Shinjiro sent her a look.

Makoto bit her lip and looked at Ken. “Are they fighting…?”

Ken nodded a bit with a frown. “Looks like it.”

“Should we do something about it?” Makoto scooted just a bit closer to Ken, and farther from her sister.

“Well--”

“There you all are!” Kazuki came running up, holding an umbrella. “Were you all chatting and waiting for the rain to stop.”

Shinjiro thought for a moment. “No, not really.”

“It was mostly quiet.” Sae crossed her arms and frowned.

Kazuki sighed a bit and shook his head. “Looks like you two really aren’t getting along, are you?”

Sae blinked a few times and shook her head. “I-I never said that, though!”

“I can tell you two don’t like each other.” He shook his head with a frown. “Don’t force yourself any longer, I should’ve noticed sooner.”

Makoto seemed to think for a moment. “Dad, does that mean I can’t talk to Ken anymore?”

“Of course not! You and Ken can still talk all you want!” He laughed and ruffled her hair. “You two seem to be friends now, huh?”

Makoto looked away and shook her head. “No! We’re just in the same class...So it’d be hard if we couldn’t talk.”

“Is that so?”

Ken frowned and Shinjiro rose an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

Ken looked up at him and jumped a bit. “Uh...I just don’t get it. She never talks to me at school. She’s barely ever said something to me…”

“That so?” He rose an eyebrow.

“Yeah, she’s never talked to me so much…” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Maybe she wants to talk to you more, then?” Shinjiro shrugged a bit. He wasn’t really sure, that’d never happened to him before.

“You think so?” Ken frowned as he thought about it. “I guess so.”

“She seems pretty lonely, and I know you are. Maybe she wants a friend.” Shinjiro shrugged. “Why not give it a shot?”

“I guess I can try…”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> ...and then Makoto goes on to basically forget Ken exists for a while lmao


End file.
